Indian artifact collectors get the point at Fletcher show

Published: Monday, March 25, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 5:16 p.m.

FLETCHER -- The thrill of the hunt has always been a big part of Randy London's love of Indian artifacts. He's spent countless hours scouring plowed fields across Western North Carolina in search of ancient spear points, arrowheads and other prehistoric artifacts.

Facts

But family has always been at the root of the hobby, London said, starting when he seriously got into arrowhead hunting in the mid-1970s.

"I just wanted to find something to do with the kids, something to keep them out of trouble and keep them interested in doing something outside," said London, a retired General Electric plant worker who lives in Naples. "It worked."

His son, Scott, can attest to that. Seated next to his dad at the WNC Indian Artifact Show on Sunday, Scott London recalled covering "miles and miles" with his father as they drove across Henderson, Buncombe and adjacent counties, stopping to ask permission from farmers to comb their land for arrowheads.

"We spent all day in the fields as a kid," said Scott, now 42, who has passed his love of artifact hunting down to his daughter, Haley, a sixth-grader at Rugby Middle School. "Most of the farmers were pretty nice about it, as long as they didn't have anything planted yet."

All three generations of Londons sat behind framed displays of arrowheads at the Indian Artifact Show, chatting with roughly 90 enthusiasts who prowled the Lelia Patterson Center in Fletcher, looking for that special stone blade or axe head to add to their collections.

The ninth annual show, presented by the Indian Artifact Collectors of the Carolinas, drew collectors and dealers from across the Southeast to display, trade and sell their prehistoric tools and weapons, most of them chipped rock implements that are thousands of years old.

Arrowheads and other "points" were the show's featured attractions, but there were many other items of interest on display, including stone axes, fossilized shark's teeth and bird talons, pottery shards and reproduction bows and arrows.

Out of respect for Indians' modern-day descendants, no items from burial sites or other sensitive items are allowed, said show coordinator David Pendleton, who has collected artifacts in WNC for more than 20 years. A vetting committee determines what can or cannot be displayed.

"These guys are very conscientious," he said. "We don't condone looters or what some people call pot hunters."

Most of the pre-Columbian artifacts at the show were discovered by collectors in plowed fields or other previously disturbed areas, although some are found on sandy river bottoms by divers with state permits. Jeff Correll, a collector from central North Carolina, searches in the wake of fresh logging or other development.

"Anybody that has bulldozed land, where they push the stumps up into a pile and it rains on it, those are good places to look," he said, emphasizing he always seeks permission first from landowners. Collection is illegal on state and federal lands, including publicly owned waterways.

Artifact hunter Chris Lunsford of Fletcher and his son, Tyler, stopped by London's table to get his opinion on several finds. Lunsford said it's gotten harder to find artifacts as area growers have switched to no-till farming to save water and decrease erosion. Still, he's uncovered more than 1,000 stone points within the past few years.

"I hunted them when I was his age," Lunsford said, pointing to his son, a West Henderson High student who wants to be an archaeologist. "And then I quit, but I started back up about five years ago. It's pretty addictive, once you get into it."

Growing a new generation of artifact collectors is a major goal of the show, participants said. Many vendors, including London, handed out free arrowheads or shark's teeth to every child who wandered by, and they encouraged kids to seek out their own primitive treasures.

"Video games are great, but if you read books and you get outside to do things in nature, like studying rocks or hunting arrowheads, you'll be a lot healthier and your mind will be sharper," Pendleton advised West Westburge, 6, a Carolina Day School student from Fletcher who was touring the show with his grandparents.

From the smile on his face as he pocketed another arrowhead, Westburge couldn't have agreed more.

<p>FLETCHER -- The thrill of the hunt has always been a big part of Randy London's love of Indian artifacts. He's spent countless hours scouring plowed fields across Western North Carolina in search of ancient spear points, arrowheads and other prehistoric artifacts.</p><p>But family has always been at the root of the hobby, London said, starting when he seriously got into arrowhead hunting in the mid-1970s. </p><p>"I just wanted to find something to do with the kids, something to keep them out of trouble and keep them interested in doing something outside," said London, a retired General Electric plant worker who lives in Naples. "It worked."</p><p>His son, Scott, can attest to that. Seated next to his dad at the WNC Indian Artifact Show on Sunday, Scott London recalled covering "miles and miles" with his father as they drove across Henderson, Buncombe and adjacent counties, stopping to ask permission from farmers to comb their land for arrowheads.</p><p>"We spent all day in the fields as a kid," said Scott, now 42, who has passed his love of artifact hunting down to his daughter, Haley, a sixth-grader at Rugby Middle School. "Most of the farmers were pretty nice about it, as long as they didn't have anything planted yet." </p><p>All three generations of Londons sat behind framed displays of arrowheads at the Indian Artifact Show, chatting with roughly 90 enthusiasts who prowled the Lelia Patterson Center in Fletcher, looking for that special stone blade or axe head to add to their collections. </p><p>The ninth annual show, presented by the Indian Artifact Collectors of the Carolinas, drew collectors and dealers from across the Southeast to display, trade and sell their prehistoric tools and weapons, most of them chipped rock implements that are thousands of years old.</p><p>Arrowheads and other "points" were the show's featured attractions, but there were many other items of interest on display, including stone axes, fossilized shark's teeth and bird talons, pottery shards and reproduction bows and arrows. </p><p>Out of respect for Indians' modern-day descendants, no items from burial sites or other sensitive items are allowed, said show coordinator David Pendleton, who has collected artifacts in WNC for more than 20 years. A vetting committee determines what can or cannot be displayed. </p><p>"These guys are very conscientious," he said. "We don't condone looters or what some people call pot hunters."</p><p>Most of the pre-Columbian artifacts at the show were discovered by collectors in plowed fields or other previously disturbed areas, although some are found on sandy river bottoms by divers with state permits. Jeff Correll, a collector from central North Carolina, searches in the wake of fresh logging or other development.</p><p>"Anybody that has bulldozed land, where they push the stumps up into a pile and it rains on it, those are good places to look," he said, emphasizing he always seeks permission first from landowners. Collection is illegal on state and federal lands, including publicly owned waterways.</p><p>Artifact hunter Chris Lunsford of Fletcher and his son, Tyler, stopped by London's table to get his opinion on several finds. Lunsford said it's gotten harder to find artifacts as area growers have switched to no-till farming to save water and decrease erosion. Still, he's uncovered more than 1,000 stone points within the past few years.</p><p>"I hunted them when I was his age," Lunsford said, pointing to his son, a West Henderson High student who wants to be an archaeologist. "And then I quit, but I started back up about five years ago. It's pretty addictive, once you get into it."</p><p>Growing a new generation of artifact collectors is a major goal of the show, participants said. Many vendors, including London, handed out free arrowheads or shark's teeth to every child who wandered by, and they encouraged kids to seek out their own primitive treasures.</p><p>"Video games are great, but if you read books and you get outside to do things in nature, like studying rocks or hunting arrowheads, you'll be a lot healthier and your mind will be sharper," Pendleton advised West Westburge, 6, a Carolina Day School student from Fletcher who was touring the show with his grandparents.</p><p>From the smile on his face as he pocketed another arrowhead, Westburge couldn't have agreed more.</p><p>Reach Axtell at 828-694-7860 or than.axtell@blueridgenow.com</p>